Thursday Janurary 21st 2015

Cats
Cheif was dying for some attention today! The whole time when he was roaming free in the cat room, he was meowing, trying to get someone to say hello. I peeked in on him and he was being so funny. He was laying on his back in the hammock, looking up and just meowing at nothing. He is such a silly guy. Once I went in there, he was most interested in laying in my arms on his back, looking out the window while I pet his tummy. He was in kitty heaven today!

I found Drew lounging in Chief's bed late in the morning. I picked him up and put him in the cat tree. He had it all to himself at this point because Chief was wandering around the room. He first crawled through the floating tunnel and then weaved his way in the tree to the cubby. This is his favorite hangout spot. I think that there is just enough room there for him to see people walk by the door all day and he also just likes how comfy it is! He then snuggled with me until I left and then happily returned to his nap.

I woke Missy up from her nap today and she looked at me as if to say "why did you wake me up!?" but she eventually forgave me. She leaped out of her condo and then perched herself on the window sill like she does. Her and I exchanged some looks and then after she leaped down and walked around the cat room. She tried out the tree but wasn't feeling like climbing today so settled back to the window sill before taking another long nap.

Enhanced

Boris and I went into the back playroom to practice some of his training. We first started out with some "sit" to get warmed up. He was able to get into this pretty quickly and is so great at taking treats very gently! He and I then started on some "sit" and "stay" which went really well too! When I would say "come" he came instantly and I made sure that he sat each time I called him over. I then wanted to see how he was doing with his "puppy push ups" where he would get a treat for coming, sitting, lying down and sitting back up! He totally nailed them and we did a few of them to get some extra energy out! He's even making sure to complete his lay down by laying on his side when he's done. I then wanted to see how his come with distractions was going so I would first throw a toy for him across the room, making sure he would go after it and then call him back. He did very well with this even though the toys were very tempting!
After Boris and I did our training session in the back playroom, he wanted to go show off for his momma so we went to go show Tasha how well he's been doing! She even joined us in some of the training, showing her boy how it's done! We did some sit, lie down (which Tasha was a total pro at) so of course we also had to incorporate some puppy push ups for her too! She of course, did really well with them and it was pretty cute to see them do them together! We then spent some time on the floor together, wrestling around and giving them both lots of belly rubs. They both have such plushy fur which makes it difficult to stop snuggling with them! After that, I gave them some more treats to munch on (which they both really enjoyed) and Tasha got so excited she knocked a couple of the treats under the playroom door, which she snatched the minute I let them loose. It was a good afternoon hanging with these poofy pups!  

It was a great day for training with Max since we had some visitors stop in! I just happened to already have Max in the playroom doing his warm up exercises ("sit", "stay", "down") when Leah popped in. I made sure that Max was calm and gentle and told him to "sit" and to "wait" until I had said hello to Leah myself. Max wiggled with excitement but stayed sitting at my heel. When it was his turn to say hello, he was a little bit too eager and jumped up in Leah's direction, so we doubled back to try again. I had him sit again, same as the first time, and had him focus on me (with help from treats) and we tried approaching Leah again. This time, he was more calm and, while still quite wiggly, didn't jump up. We greeted the other staff as we went down the halls practicing walking nicely on leash. Max was much better the second time we passed Leah in the hallway and he didn't jump up at all. With more practice he'll be an excellent greeter! 


Groups

It was my first time getting the chance to be in the yard with Bella and Jake for this visit, and boy did I miss them! They are both so cute and loving, and both adore running around the yard like crazy. There were plenty of dogs to accompany them outside today as well. Jake and Bella both played with Taylor some more today. Bella was on and off playing every couple or so minutes. She would run after Taylor and then veer off and hangout near the fence and sniff something, and then a few moments later she was bounding after Taylor again. These two seem to love a good game of chase. Even when Taylor wasn't getting chased by Bella, she was still zooming around the yard, enticing someone to play with her. Jake was very spirited as usual, making sure to jump up on my lap whenever I crouch down in the yard. No matter where he was in the yard, if I crouched down, he was bolting my way, leaping into me. I think Taylor might have a little crush on Jake. She loves his attention, and always goes running into him in the yard, trying to get him playing. Bella is a little protective of her brother though, so she makes sure she occupies Taylor's time so that she doesn't hog Jake all to herself!

Miko had another good day. He loved his walk this morning, joined by Taylor. Taylor was also really excited to be in the back trail, and sniff all the bushes and trees. Miko was a little more focused than Taylor was today, so he made sure to stay right in front, where he could lead us all down the path and then get back to his snuggly bed inside. At group time, Miko was happy to get outside and run around, as he always does. His attention was all on Taylor again today. He would run around in a big circle of the yard, go to Taylor and then run around again. After this, he took a break and sniffed the fence line between the other yard where the big dogs go. There must have been some pretty interesting dogs passing by those parts earlier because Miko spent quite some time hanging out there!

Chigo was pretty relaxed outside today. Almost everyone in his group was having a more mellow day and they all agreed that they would take a break from playing this morning. He darted into the yard along with the rest of his group and they all went straight for the agility yard gate. At the time, it was closed and they all stood there pacing and waiting for me to finally open it. Once it was open, Max and Chigo couldn't get through fast enough! They flung open the gate and Chigo went to the other end of the yard while Max stayed near me and nudged me, telling me how excited he was. Max was the only one today that was down to play. He invited Chigo into a game of chase a couple times, and Chigo was almost tempted, but he stuck to his relaxed morning routine, and hung out near the playroom window, looking up at the dogs that were inside. When it was Chigo's turn to go in the playroom, he was with Scarlett and Max. These three are becoming really good friends! Max eventually got Scarlett to run around with him for a little while. She was carrying around a bone, and Max made her think that he wanted it, so they had a little "keep away" game on the go. So cute!

Maverick and Shyla had a good day today. Shyla absolutely loves the back trail. She is always so excited for walks, but today she was even more so. It took a while to get a leash on her, because she was jumping around and leaping onto Maverick. Once I did, we were off and she couldn't wait. She kept her enthusiasm going all throughout the morning and into group time. Outside, Shyla was a non-stop running machine! Every time I saw her, she was tearing up the yard, nudging the dog that was nearest to her. I called her name a couple times to come over, and she was hesitant, but eventually did, letting me pet her head and rub her back. She had her tail wagging the whole time! Our time together ended when Maverick came booting over to us, and stole Shyla away from me! Maverick was feeling extra playful today as well. He got to spend some time with Sadie for a couple minutes outside. These two were perfectly content racing each other around the yard, switching roles of who did the chasing of the other. After Sadie left, Maverick was searching for a new partner in crime, and who better than his sister Shyla! These two crazy kids went at it for a while before heading inside again, ready to catch some zzz's and enjoy a little treat that they were given.

Justice, Macie and I had a blast outside today. After days of hard work, Macie finally got Justice to full on play with her and she was so happy about it! They pranced around in the snow for the longest time. Justice would run away from Macie, and she chased after him and then propped herself in front of his with her bum in the air. Justice batted at her with his paw a few times and then she pounced at him. He jumped up and they ran around the yard a little bit more, and Macie was loving every minute of it. After they finished up playing, Macie was now looking for some attention. I knelt down in the snow to say hi to her and she nestled herself onto my lap, and wedged her head in between my legs. I scratched her behind her ears, which she adored and then she gave me some nice gentle kisses on the cheek. She's such a sweetheart! Later in the day, Leah came to visit all of the dogs and brought her furbaby, Kyah out to play with Justice and Macie. Macie was excited to run around with some new people friends and with a new dog friend. She loves having a small group and lots of one-on-one time!

Boris is such a gentleman! He is always the center of attention with the lady huskies in the yard. Magic and Isis are his biggest fans, apart from his mum! The three girls made sure to team up on him in the yard today, like they always do. Boris loves the attention he gets from his friends! He was going easy on the ladies today. They did their usual game of tackling Boris to the ground and then jumping all over him while he wrestles them back. They all had so much fun together, wrestling and being silly. After Boris was done playing with his ladies, he went to see one of his oldest friends, Brokk. Brokk was in a good mood today and really wanted to play around with Boris. Boris was tired from already running around so much, but immediately got some more energy and he and Brokk were in their own wrestling game soon enough! Once Boris started playing with Brokk, Tasha let the boys do their thing, and she snuck off to the agility yard to see what was going on. There she found Tsavo wandering around, kicking up some snow in the far corner. Tasha wandered over, curious as to what Tsavo had discovered. Turns out it was just a chewed up old toy, which neither of the girls wanted, so they left it there and moved on. Tasha wandered the yard some more, weaving in and out of both the yards. Tsavo decided to follow Tasha's paw prints around the yard and go where ever she went. She mainly stuck to investigating the fence line, but sometimes strayed into the middle of the yard where all the chaos was, and where the games were taking place. She wandered right into a wrestling match between Sadie and Glo. All three of them stood there for a moment, and then bam!- Tsavo was right in there with Glo, chasing Sadie around the yard!

Sadie made some new friends today! Sally and Glo are two Goldens boarding with us for a while and Sadie immediately wanted to be their friend. Glo was a tad bit hesitant to play with Sadie, but Sadie didn't take no for an answer! She ended up having so much fun in the yard with these two that she completely forgot to try to jump over the fence! I guess these girls are meant to be good friends. Sadie was glad that Tsavo decided to join in after a while too! She had been watching her the whole time outside, wondering when she was going to join in. Tsavo loves to play a little rough, just like Sadie does, so these two were perfect mates today! Sadie is looking forward to Max's return to the yard on Monday so they can get back to being partners in crime!

Kimi is a sucker for the snow, that is for certain! She enjoyed being out there so much, that she refuses to come inside with Lobo! The only way to get her in, is to put one of her friends out there to run around with her and tire them both out so she will want to come in! Today was one of those days where Kimi was content to stay outside, so she got a little extra group time. Lobo is so funny to watch when Kimi does that because she always tries to get him to stay with her. Once he started moving towards the door, she barked at him and nudged his side, trying to pressure him into staying too. Lobo stopped and looked at her, then at me, and continued on his way inside. He does love the snow too, but he also loves a good nap, snuggled on a cot. When Lobo was outside today, he had a follower: Cai. Cai was interested to see what Lobo was doing outside, so he low-key followed him around. It took him a while to realize that Cai was there and turned around and said hello. I think that Cai was playing his own little game with himself because once Lobo said hello, Cai lost interest in following him. Silly guy! Cai then decided to move on to see Issy and Mocha. Mocha was sitting by the door in her usual spot, supervising the yard. At the beginning of group time, Mocha was super pumped to see Cai in the yard. And wagged her tail vigorously, and trotted up to Cai to say hi. Cai returned the hello and kept wandering. Mocha took that time to roll around in the snow. She seems to love the cool snow on her back an the warm sun on her belly. Issy and Spencer were the quiet ones in the group today. They each wandered the yard with their noses down, scanning for any new or interesting smells in the snow. Spencer Popped in and out of play with his friends Percy and Teddy, but was perfectly content to wander the yard with Issy and get some pets from me. 

Teddy's herding instincts came out to play today and he made it his mission to circle around every one outside when they were all in the same spot. He started out today by herding Percy around the yard. I think it took a while for him to notice what Teddy was trying to do, but as soon as he figured it out, he made it a challenge for Teddy. He always went the opposite way that Teddy was trying to make him go and then Percy would just do a full lap of the yard before returning to me to bark at me, letting me know he was having a good time. These two continued this little game they made for themselves and then Percy came to see me. He flung his whole body at me at once and almost knocked me off my feet! But that was his way of telling me that he demanded to be cuddled, so I was happy to grant his last request for the day before heading inside. I pet his ears and scratched his back and he wiggled his bum back and forth, shaking his short, little tail!